Help to Buy Equity Loan Questions

Chr1sDJT

I am in the early stages of the Help to Buy equity loan process and am going through the assessment by an IFA to be accepted into the scheme one of the conditions to be accepted into the scheme is you can't own any other property.

Something has come to light recently that means I may be due to inherit some land and I'm worried this may invalidate my purchase. The land is agricultural and undeveloped and I don't plan to build on it but my two questions are...

1. Does owning agricultural or undeveloped land count as owning property and therefore not applicable for Help to Buy anymore?

2. If after being accepted into the scheme I then inherit the land, does this change my original application or does that not matter?

THANKS :j

G_M

Your HTB agent should know the answer.

The gov website says:

You must not own any other property at the time you buy your new home with a Help to Buy: Equity Loan.

'Land' is in legal terms 'property', so it may well be that you are inelegible.
However in everyday usage a 'property' is a building - the website appears to be written in everyday language.

So the answer is unclear.

It is most likely that the point at which eligibility applies is at Completion. Naturally, an applicant would need to complete the application in advance (and thus declare any property owned at that point), but if a material fact changed between then and completion it would need o be declared, making you then ineligible.

I'm no expert though so just using common sense.

I may be due to inherit some land

Someone is dying and you've heard you're named in the will?
Someone has died, Probate is pending, but you are named in the will?

da_rule

The Help to Buy FAQ page also says that the Help to Buy property must be your only residence. The land you are due to inherit, from the sounds of it, could not be considered to be a residence.
You can contact your local agent and just ask them.
If you find out you are due to inherit it, you can either try and sell it quickly, or, if you know anyone else is who is inheriting who may be interested you could redirect your gift under the will to them and vice versa.

kingstreet

Phone your area HTB Agent and ask.

https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/equity-loan/find-helptobuy-agent/